Belonging, Identity and Agency of EFL Instructors on Regional Campuses

This article presents the results of research based on a life-history narrative research of the complexities involved in being a university teacher at a regional campus. Nine English as a Foreign Language (EFL) university instructors participated in this study. The data were analyzed and organized b...

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Bibliographic Details
Author: Barrantes Elizondo, Lena
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2023
Country:Costa Rica
Institution:Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica
Repository:Portal de Revistas UNA
Language:English
Spanish
OAI Identifier:oai:www.revistas.una.ac.cr:article/17923
Online Access:https://www.revistas.una.ac.cr/index.php/letras/article/view/17923
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:EFL instructors
belonging
professional agency
identity
docentes ILE
sentido de pertenencia
agencia profesional
identidad
Description
Summary:This article presents the results of research based on a life-history narrative research of the complexities involved in being a university teacher at a regional campus. Nine English as a Foreign Language (EFL) university instructors participated in this study. The data were analyzed and organized by following the three-dimensional, temporal-relational perspective on teacher agency offered by the ecological approach. Findings suggest that factors from the past that gave instructors a broad repertoire of responses to engage and act mainly included participants’ institutional and community belonging. Power differentials and the need for association and recognition stood out in participants’ stories.